'Toon Reviews 12: DuckTales Vol. 2 Part 11: Catch as Cash Can Part 3: Aqua Ducks

Catch as Cash Can Part 3: Aqua Ducks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While this episode isn’t as exciting or creative as a part of the story arc, it still is a good continuation of what goes on with plenty of admirable qualities.  It features Scrooge man a salvage vehicle called a Gold Digger to reobtain his money trapped at the bottom of the Marinara Trench in the previous episode.  Much of his underwater voyage consists of him getting majorly annoyed by the shipmates coming along with him. They include the Gold Digger’s inventor Gyro Gearloose for praising his inventions and not pointing out their flaws until too late, Launchpad for his usual incompetence, and of all characters, Doofus Drake for constantly eating and being distracting while communicating with dolphins.  Scrooge’s annoyances make for some humorous interactions and reactions between this interesting set of characters, and how he views how they’re failing to cooperate with him is clearly identifiable.  With his fortune lost due to circumstances, it must be hard for him to work with such incompetence even if he can be harsh at times.  However, neither Scrooge nor his accomplices are as bad as the mermen they come across shortly after finding the money.  Throughout the episode, they’re constantly making the air-breathing visitors look bad as they explain how people constantly dump garbage and toxic waste into their kingdom of Atlantis.  They retaliate against the air-breathers with intense labor charges to clear away all garbage from their kingdom for 400 years, including Scrooge’s money.  In addition to the mermen’s behaviors fitting the human-vilifying traits of annoying, preachy environmental stories, they are some of the most unenjoyable antagonists this show has had.  It’s bad enough that they’re harsh to all air-breathers thinking that air-breathers actually enjoy throwing trash down to their city and that they're all like that.  Scrooge even says that some of the trash, his money, belongs to him and is going to take it anyway, but the mermen still won’t listen to reason. Sadly, we see a lot of this not just from them pushing the group to work, but also preventing their escape by taking away their air helmets and sending a sea monster after them when they head towards the surface making the viewing very frustrating.  Through the frustration though, Gyro, Launchpad, and Doofus get a good shot at redemption when Scrooge is imprisoned, and they come up with a plan to not only free him, but also raise his fortune and all of Atlantis.  Gyro’s intellect puts a fizz solution shown earlier to good use, Launchpad spreads it around Atlantis in exciting chase scene as he rides a dolphin with the mermen in hot pursuit, and even Doofus’s newfound way of talking to dolphins plays a significant role.  The conclusion is ultimately satisfying not just because Scrooge’s money is reobtained, but because he’s left learning that even people who seem incompetent can be useful at times.  The mermen are even grateful that their actions rids them of all the trash.  Too bad this is their only moment of decency here.  Also, doesn’t Atlantis being resurfaced defeat its established status as a lost city?  Well, it’s no matter because in spite of some annoying density from some of the characters, this comes off as a highly enjoyable rescue mission with a poignant message on trust. 8/10

The Ranking:

1.      The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 5: Too Much of a Gold Thing

2.      Catch as Cash Can Part 2: A Whale of a Bad Time

3.      Catch as Cash Can Part 1: A Drain on the Economy

4.      Back to the Klondike

5.      The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 2: Wronguay in Ronguay

6.      The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 4: Cold Duck

7.      The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 1: Don’t Give up the Ship

8.      The Treasure of the Golden Suns Part 3: Three Ducks of the Condor

9.      Catch as Cash Can Part 3: Aqua Ducks

10.  Scrooge’s Pet

11.  Horse Scents

 

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the conclusion of the "Catch as Cash Can" arc when the moment of truth comes with the weighing of Scrooge and Flintheart's fortunes for the firefly fruit in "Working for Scales."

If you would like to check out other DuckTales reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

'Toon Reviews 7: Hey Arnold Season 2 Episode 3

Save the Tree

From the title, it’s easy to get the impression that this is nothing more than a preachy environmental story existing solely to explain why trees are important and shouldn’t be cut down.  However, the actual cartoon works because of what the environmental issue means for the characters involved, which makes it easy to care for the tree needing saving.  Right at the beginning, we get a feel of what the tree, called Mighty Pete, means to Arnold and his friends mostly for how it holds their very own treehouse and its historic significance as the oldest tree in the neighborhood.  Though why they claim it to be the only one when there’s clearly other trees, I really don’t know.  Anyway, because of the kids’ attachment to the tree and their apparent care for it, their concerns of it doomed to be knocked down by Helga’s dad, Big Bob, and his assistant Nick, to make room for a new beeper store are easy to get behind.  What follows mostly consists of the kids trying to do what they can to save Mighty Pete, despite most of them feeling powerless against a rich and powerful store owner like Big Bob.  The most entertaining bits come from Arnold’s Grandma who really demonstrates her appeal as a character by showing the most passion for the cause.  She even has the gang take matters into their own hands when they can’t get help from city hall, and even when Big Bob retaliates as they all protest in front of his house in ridiculous costumes, she makes it clear that their cause isn’t over.  However, even with Grandma’s great charismatic and determined demeanor, the kids grow depressed that they can’t save their famed tree, and its especially felt when they all wake up in the middle of the night to spend time in their treehouse one last time.  However, that’s when we get an exciting climax when the bulldozer set to knock down Mighty Pete approaches.  All the kids can do is throw everything, INCLUDING the kitchen sink, to stop the bulldozer but to no avail.  At the same time, we get a great moment from Big Bob, who’s known to be very neglectful of Helga.  When he sees that she’s up in the tree, he protests Nick to stop the bulldozer, giving the impression that while he’s not a good parent, his flaws aren’t intentional.  What does succeed to stop the bulldozer is easily the high point of the climax.  Grandma, in all her versatility, shows up in a Tarzan suit, swings from the tree, and takes control of the bulldozer, driving it out of the way at the last minute.  In the end, it’s the lack of a bulldozer as well as the fact the kids risked their lives to protect the tree that gets Big Bob to decide against knocking it down.  That’s the appeal of this whole plot; the characters’ devotion to a piece of nature leading to solid comedy, tensions, and heart. 9.5/10

New Teacher

At the start of these reviews, I mentioned that there’s a game-changing element included here which causes continuity errors if you follow the airing order.  That element is introduced in this cartoon.  As the title shows, Arnold’s class gets a new teacher called Mr. Simmons.  Compared to their previous teacher, Ms. Slovak, he’s way more fleshed out.  He always has a positive demeanor and shows genuine care for who he’s teaching unlike the other who just did her job and not much else.  As a result, he’s a much more pleasing teacher to have around for the rest of the series.  In his debut, things with him start off on the wrong foot as his teaching methods such as putting the desks in a circle, getting the kids to share personal feelings on other students, which almost gets Helga to reveal her love for Arnold, and pushing sappy subjects like poetry don’t get the kids to think well of him.  They devise a plan to overwhelm him to quit.  As they drop pencils, swap names, and protest the teachings, topped with Harold eating his lunch I might add, it’s easy to feel for Mr. Simmons.  He’s easily the nicest, most caring teacher anyone could ask for, and it never feels like he deserves this treatment.  It makes it all the more concerning that all the students, including the nice, smart, and considerate ones like Arnold himself, go along with the mistreatment for no real reason.  However, the consequences to their mistreatment are both grueling and fun to watch.  They get a drill sergeant of a teacher, Lt. Major Goose, and his military mannerisms make for an interesting approach in teaching the class especially with something as simple as multiplication tables, though they clearly don’t belong in a classroom setting.  It’s too much for the kids to take, and who can blame them?  Having a literal drill sergeant for a teacher makes school worse than it is.  They may have brought Lt. Major Goose in, but it’s great that they take it upon themselves to get Mr. Simmons back.  They actually go to his house and prove that they’re open to his teachings in several nice moments where they not only prove to be teachable for him, but also befriend him which is something we hardly see in shows.  I can really relate to this based on the friendly terms I’ve been on with many of my teachers.  So, after a hilarious scene of the kids overwhelming Lt. Major Goose to quit with everything Mr. Simmons taught, classes resume with Mr. Simmons at the lead, and everyone advancing in knowledge greatly, and this is only the beginning.  Overall, even if it has to disregard the good nature of some characters to make the plot work, this is a great start to a great change to the show’s dynamic. 9/10

The Ranking

1. Harold’s Kitty
2. Save the Tree
3. New Teacher
4. The Big Scoop
5. Hooky
6. Arnold Saves Sid

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where Gerald's little sister finds a way to spend time with him through a "Ransom," and we're introduced to another prominent character named Lila, a.k.a. "Ms. Perfect."

If you would like to check out other Hey Arnold reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.